Auburn vs. Alabama: Embarrassing 2012 Iron Bowl Is Worst in History

There is no explanation for the drubbing that the Auburn Tigers received at the hands of the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday. Alabama blasted Auburn 49-0, leaving no room for excuses from Gene Chizik and his staff.

This Iron Bowl provided the record books with the second-worst loss in the history of the rivalry. The record-holder was the rivalry renewal game in 1948. The Tide also won that game, 55-0.

There have been some really bad years for Auburn in the rivalry, but no team has looked as absent and lost as this squad did Saturday.

The Tigers have consistently underperformed this year, looking more like a flag football team than a FBS major conference team two years removed from a national title.

This is the second consecutive year Auburn has been destroyed by its bitter rival. Last year, the Tide won the game 42-14, with Auburn relying on a turnover and kickoff return to provide its 14 points.

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Auburn has lost to Alabama four out of the last five years. Three games have had a margin of victory of 36 points or more for the Tide. This isn’t just the worst game in Iron Bowl history; it has been one of most lopsided streaks in the history of the game.

The Tigers had shown promise in 2009, and they won big in 2010, but those memories have become stale for fans. They don’t believe this team is heading in the right direction after the consecutive lopsided losses that have come at the hands of Alabama.

This embarrassing loss is expected to mark the end of the Chizik era at Auburn, and rightfully so.

Alabama had only scored more than 40 points against Auburn once in the history of the rivalry prior to 2011. In the past two years, it has happened twice.

This loss will have a place in Iron Bowl history. Alabama is on its way to a possible consecutive national title, and Auburn is at its lowest point since the Doug Barfield era.

Nothing good has come from this season for the Tigers, and this loss completed one of the worst campaigns in school history. Losing like this was the mark of a team that had given up. There was no hope that remained for the Tigers heading into the season finale, and it showed.

Auburn fans are ready for this day to be over, but this game will linger for decades to come.